


Side Effects

by ReginaNocis



Series: Shooting Stars [6]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Bad Ideas, Fix-It of Sorts, Multi, Multiverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-17
Updated: 2016-10-17
Packaged: 2018-08-23 02:08:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8309668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReginaNocis/pseuds/ReginaNocis
Summary: “They're going to be watching me too closely. I won't be able to get away, but... I need him. Will you help me, Kara?” Barry asked.





	

“They're going to be watching me too closely. I won't be able to get away, but... I need him. Will you help me, Kara?” Barry asked.

“I understand what you're feeling. I do. But are you sure about this? From what everyone has told me, messing with the Multiverse and time is just bad,” she replied, worried.

“I can't live without him. He saved me, and now it's my turn to save him. I _know_ he's still out there, Kara. I modified this to open breaches for you. It's programmed to bring you back here with just the push of a button. You'll be completely safe,” he told her.

“Where did you get this?” she asked, frowning. 

“Cisco made it and then forgot about it. I barely had to do anything to it,” he replied. “Please, Kara.”

“Okay,” she told him. “I'll do it.”

  
  


Len couldn't see much. It was like floating inside of a cloud of mist. Sometimes he'd see streaks of lightning that he recognized, but he stopped getting excited after the third one. Barry couldn't see him, would never see him.

He was pretty sure he knew where he was. He was floating outside of time. The lightning was Barry as he traveled back and forth between times and Earths. 

He hoped that Rip had managed to save his family. But even if he had, Len wasn't sure it was worth  _this._

  
  


Barry was literally never alone anymore. More often than not it was Lisa who was next to him, joining in his grieving. This time, it was Iris.

“Please talk to me,” she begged quietly. With the exception of Kara, he'd yet to say a word to anyone. All he could do now was wait, and hope that Kara was successful. 

Len was still out there, he knew it.

  
  


Kara was leaving her fifth Earth when it happened. The device in her hand stopped her in the middle of a breach. She came to a screeching stop in the middle of... nothing. She was stuck.

“Who are you supposed to be?” a voice called, and Kara spun in place to stare at the man. She'd seen enough pictures to know who she was looking at. 

“You're Len,” she said, eyes wide. “You're alive!”

“I already know who I am. I asked who you are,” Len snarked. 

“I'm a friend of Barry's. He sent me to find you. My name is Kara,” she told him.

“I know all of Barry's friends,” Len protested.

“Clearly not. You wouldn't happen to know the way back, would you? My ride home kinda broke,” she replied.

“If I knew how to get back, I'd be there,” he reminded her. “You're not much of a hero.”

“I kind of wish I could ditch you,” Kara muttered.

  
  


“Where did Kara go?” Winn asked on the third day. “She hasn't checked in lately.”

Barry must have looked guilty or something, because everyone turned to stare at him.

“Barry... what did you do?”

  
  


“Is that one of Ramon's toys?” Len asked after a long period of silence. Kara frowned.

“What?” she asked.

“Did Cisco make that?” he clarified.

“Yes, and Barry did something with it, too. Why?” she replied.

“Over the years, I've gotten very good at taking apart and modifying Ramon's work. I might be able to fix it,” he told her.

“You're welcome to try. It's beyond what I can do, for sure,” she said, passing it to him. “Just don't leave me here.”

“Wouldn't dream of it,” he told her, smirking. 

“I wonder how much time has passed back on your Earth,” Kara mused as he worked. “I've been traveling for six days, but I don't know whose time to go by. I've just been counting hours like normal since I left to find you.”

“I'm not sure time moves here at all,” Len said quietly. “It feels like I've been floating here for months, but you've been looking for six days. I'm assuming Barry didn't waste much time in sending you after me, which means it's been maybe ten days since I got stuck here.”

“So we could be here for what feels like years to us, but it could just be a few days for them? Will we age?” Kara asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine. Now be quiet so I can work,” Len snapped. 

“Sorry,” Kara muttered.

  
  


“I can't track the device. She's either out of range, or it's broken,” Cisco said.

“This has to be what Future-Barry meant, right?” Winn asked.

“Future-Barry?” Caitlin asked, eyebrows raised.

“ _Thank you,_ Winn,” Cisco snapped. “And I don't know!” 

“Oh,” Winn said awkwardly.

“Yeah, oh. We'll tell you guys later,” Cisco promised.

“Fine. You've got nothing?” Lisa asked. 

“Yeah, I'm sor- wait. There, I've got her. She's in the middle of... nothing,” Cisco said, typing in the computer. “Like, in the time stream.”

“Standing still?” Barry asked.

“Yes. The device itself is offline. I can't fix it from here,” Cisco answered.

“So she's just stuck there?” Winn asked, horrified.

“I can get her,” Barry said. 

  
  


“Ooh, that light is blinking!” Kara clapped.

“You better hope it's a distress call, because that's all I can do,” Len told her.

“If it's working even a little bit, Barry will find us,” she told him. “He never gave up on you.”

“He does that,” Len said fondly.

“He loves you. You know that, right?” Kara asked.

Len didn't get a chance to answer before they were both surrounded by red lightning and whisked away.

  
  


“Are you sure you want to go?” Iris asked. “I know Barry can be a bit much, but we've all really enjoyed getting to know you.” 

“And we've loved meeting you, but I feel like I'm just hiding from my responsibilities at this point. It's time to go back,” Kara replied.

“Thank you,” Barry told her, pulling her into a tight hug. “I can't ever repay you.”

“You don't owe me anything,” she told him, kissing his cheek.

“Ready?” Cisco asked, raising his arm to open a breach. Kara nodded, holding Winn tightly for the journey.

They landed in the same field they'd left from, but...

“Oh no,” Kara whispered.

  
  


Barry held Len tightly that night, unwilling to let go. “Don't ever scare me like that again,” he whispered.l

“I didn't have a choice, Red,” Len reminded him. “What would you have done?” Barry didn't answer, knowing he would have done exactly the same thing without hesitation. “And while we're on the subject, was it really necessary to endanger your new friend?”

“They wouldn't let me do it myself!” Barry protested.

“Can you blame them? There are always consequences, Barry. I just hope that Kara dosen't have to deal with the backlash. She seemed like a nice girl. Naive, but nice,” Len replied.

“She can more than handle it, if it comes to that,” Barry said.

“She shouldn't have to,” Len frowned. 

“Can we not fight tonight? I just got you back,” Barry whispered. Len nodded. 

“Sleep, Barry. We'll talk in the morning.”

 


End file.
